It was September when Hurricane Maria, the tenth most intense Atlantic hurricane on record, slammed into Puerto Rico. It claimed lives, destroyed buildings and knocked out power to the entire island.
Now the U.S. territory, which happens to be home to dozens of pharmaceutical manufacturing plants, is still struggling to recover. More than 600,000 customers remain without power. It is impacting hospitals across the country and right here in metro-Detroit.
“This is what we cannot get,” said Annet Karageanes, as she held a small I.V. fluid bag in her hand. “These these little bags of solution to administer the drugs.”
Karageanes works to make sure the Beaumont Health System has the pharmacy supplies it needs. Beaumont, along with 70% of hospitals across the entire United States, uses IV solution bags manufactured in Puerto Rico.
She showed us the Beaumont Health System’s supply warehouse in Warren, which helped Beaumont react to this major problem nationwide. Smaller hospitals without such a warehouse would have trouble ordering direct from various manufacturers without such a space. It would make getting replacement supplies more challenging. She pointed to a row of boxes where IV solution bags are stored. Normally it would be completely filled, but there gaps of space because supply is low.
“It is a crisis, it really is,” said Karageanes.
“We use about fifty-thousand bags a month,” said Kathy Paulicki, the Beaumont Health System Chief Pharmacist.
She says hospital leadership immediately made changes. Nurses started giving oral medication or physically standing at a patient's bedside and delivering I.V. medication by syringe whenever possible. The hospitals also ordered and started using supplies that, while they work, are simply less efficient than the preferable bags. It has resulted in a lot of costly work for hospital staff, but patients are cared for. The hospital says it is costing up to $100,000 a month in supplies, and much more in labor.
I.V. solution bags aren’t the only things in shortage due to the hurricane damage in Puerto Rico. Puerto Rico is also a major maker of surgical blades, surgical mesh, and pacemakers. Paulicki says at the national level hospital associations are asking lawmakers to do what they can to expand where such supplies come from should there be another natural disaster.
“Tighten our supply chain so we don’t run into these critical situations,” said Paulicki.
In the meantime, thoughts are with the people of Puerto Rico as they work to rebuild their homes and their workplaces.
